November 2009

November 26, 2009

Great interview with Dr. Baker which really highlights the issues of premature birth. As the father of six kids, three of which were born prematurely, I have been stunned at the rise of premature births in the United States. The rates exceed 1 in 8 births nationally and the reasons appear mostly unknown.
I am the Board of the local March of Dimes with Dr. Baker and am a former frequent customer thanks to my three early birds. His work and dedication within the hospital and outside it are admirable.

November 24, 2009

AOL is a local company here in DC. Yes, I know their Corporate Headquarters moved to NYC and may or may not move back. But, there are legions of current and former AOLers here. There is a strong AOL diaspora within the DC area and its start ups. I back a few companies with AOL D.N.A. and that background reflects well on the individuals today. I think reflects well on AOL chances. AOL has traditionally hired smart people. I don't claim to be any specialized student of AOL or a qualified Wall Street analyst. But, I am real fan of smart people.

And I am old enough to remember Apple being written off and left for dead (twice). I joined IBM (also written off as a goner) during the Gerstner make over in the 90's as a young executive and took part in a turn around of major proportions. I would assert that no one made positive predictions in the press about the turnarounds of Apple or IBM until those turnarounds were completely obvious. And no one is saying much positive about AOL's prospects now.

But, I will. AOL's new senior management team is smart enough to leverage the company's considerable assets into a positive direction. AOL has content strengths, advertising expertise and personnel advantages, customer base assets, sophisticated e commerce technology, multi-billion dollar revenues and soon, the operating freedom, to turnaround its fortunes. I learned at IBM that smart, hard working people can and do accomplish incredible things. Sometimes they need to be re-directed and that can take a little while. AOL will have the time and tools to become a great company once again starting next month. You can blame the past on AOL, Time Warner, the fates, or some combination thereof. My argument is AOL's past isn't necessarily predictive of its future and AOL isn't done yet.

Ok, so the turnaround AOL is unlikely? Yes, it might be. But, let's watch a little the movie before we get overly convinced about the ending.

My former secret past with cartoons was exposed on national TV last weekend.

In 1997, I was running a Internet entertainment network of websites that included a joint venture with Universal Studios. The JV with Universal was a website dedicated to entertaining boys and girls between the ages of 7 and 11. Universal Studios had movies, TV shows, record labels, and various other entertainment assets within its company. The "rights" to each property (movie, show, character, artist, song, product) were specifically and individually negotiated by the Studio and the property originator. We wanted to work "Babe -The Pig" (great movie -"that'll do pig") but quickly established that we would need to negotiate separately with the producers/directors of the film who owned "Babe" and the artist who provided Babe's voice. Getting both in the boat at the same time proved impossible at the time as people misunderstood and profoundly mistrusted this new medium -- the Internet. (In hindsight, I should gone after the duck in that movie -- he was a star...)

From there, I went after some famous cartoon assets for which Universal had some distribution rights. But those distribution rights, which mostly dated from the 1960's didn't quite include the Internet. So, I set out to contact and convince the then current owners of the rights to various cartoon properties including "Rocky and Bullwinkle", "Woody Woodpecker" and others, that they should license my company their characters for usage on an Internet website. First, however, I needed to explain what the Internet was and why it was important. "Well, the Department of Defense needed a network architecture that wasn't at all switching oriented...." Ok, I didn't say that but it was a trifle challenging to make the computer network as an entertainment medium point. In the process, I hope I educated them as to this emerging medium and its potential. In return, they thought me a great deal about intellectual property, branding and the power of licensing.

Given that rights were typically in the hands of the children or grandchildren of the creators rather than the creators themselves, it was interesting discussion about the intellectual property, its brand meaning and future. Those conversations about the cartoons, their creations, the creators and product distribution were some of the most interesting ones of my 30 years in business. And it was a life lesson in the power of branding and licensing. From meeting with these folks, I really considered that effective branding often relies on making something that is inanimate into something animate. I had always thought of life less brand attributes. I learned that has to be multi-dimensional and organic. That branding is about creating a genuine relationship between people and a product. People build relationships more readily with living things. That keeping the a brand and its character genuine in its usage over time was critical. When I work with a start up now, I frequently counsel brand the product because it will serve to brand the company. Which isn't necessarily true in the reverse, branding a company doesn't consistently brand its products.

And I learned that licensing is the ultimate game of control. They slice the licenses pretty thinly in Hollywood. And they are wise to do so, as they've seen the rise of new mediums and unexpected opportunities before with radio and TV. So, while I am not a branding expert, I became convinced that it better to brand a product than a company. And that every license is a very sharp, two edged sword. And if you brand well, it will only pay if you control and protect your brand along the way.

November 22, 2009

Here are a few highlights from the November 21st, Fox Business Network's "Your Questions, Your Money" show that featured LHD Vending and its hot dog vending machine. I'm not a backer, just a fan.
The company is really a great story.

November 20, 2009

Headed up to NYC in the morning to appear on "Your Questions, Your Money" on the Fox Business Network from 1pm to 2pm. Glen Archer, CEO of LDH Vending, will be on as well. Glen's company makes the world finest (first !?!) hot dog vending machine.

November 17, 2009

Women in Technology (WIT) and the March of Dimes announced the recipients of the 2009 Heroines in Technology Awards on Friday, November 13, 2009, at a black-tie gala event that raised $139,000 to support the March of Dimes.

There was some nice coverage by the good folks at Bisnow and the now bearded and always talented David Stegon. David lives in Stafford, VA and attended 6 events on the day prior to H.I.T. (A little Bisnow magic back at you, feels great).

Women in Technology (WIT) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to offering women involved in all levels of the technology industry a wide range of professional development and networking opportunities. One of the organization's main goals is to create a forum where women in technology can be recognized and promoted as role models.WIT was founded in 1994 and has nearly 1,000 members.

About the March of Dimes

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

November 16, 2009

The most frequently asked question is "How many stock options should I receive?" or in effect, "What is the right amount of stock options for my position as a VP/Director/Manager of ___________?"

The quick answer is that most organizations, regardless of size, have established stock option grant "bands" or ranges of amounts of stock options that are to be granted to new hires based upon salary and title. So, if you're a director making a $100k salary, there's an expected range amount of options for that position/salary combination. Let's say, for example, that the option band or range is anticipated to be between 3,000 and 5,000 options.

So your questions should logically be --

1. How many options am I being offered?

2. What is the band or expected range for this position?

3. And, if necessary, why am I receiving less than the full amount offered for this position?

You can't argue the price of the options as this is set by accounting and tax statue in the United States to be the current fair market value of the stock option on the day it is granted by a company's board of directors.

As a matter of protocol, Board of Directors typically are presented with a number of option grants to approve within any particular Board meeting. The grants are usually made up of recent hires who are receiving an initial stock option grant. The Board will usually ask if these grants are within the pre-established bands for the salary/position combination. If the answer is yes and there are adequate shares available for the option grants in the company pool of stock options, the Board will readily approve the proposed stock options grants. So, if you push for the top end of the available band but don't exceed it -- it won't require much management attention to get approved by the Board of Directors.

Please note: I have written on a few of occasions about employee stock options in a start up. (See links below if you have a further interest.)

November 15, 2009

It just isn't sufficient as a professional device. Not for voice and not for email. I carry a Blackberry for email. I soon will carry some smart phone on the Verizon network for voice communications. As a handheld device, the iPhone is a cool little computer. It does cool little computer things very well.

If my job was playing games for a living, which it is not, I cannot imagine a better device than the iPhone. Flipside5's Air Hockey game is the "Citizen Kane" of handheld air hockey games. The little slot machine like application for finding a random, nearby restaurant is really cool. The Facebook application is inspired and well done. The More Cowbell application picks me up when I am down.

Unfortunately for my usage of an iPhone, my job involves a great deal of email communication and important phone calls. Important phone calls is meant to imply that dropping the call two to three times per half hour when moving in a vehicle isn't acceptable. It strikes me as unprofessional. Since I live in the relatively wilderness-like Washington D.C. area, I probably should be more understanding that the iPhone cannot hold a call when traveling from the White House to Tyson's Corner via automobile. It is 8 miles, the primary options are highways, that people would use the iPhone here cannot be a surprise to anyone at AT&T. So, if I have an important call, I pull over. When the call is completed, I get going again. I will never recover the time lost sitting still in order to keep a call live. The iPhone is a mobile phone inasmuch as you can carry it around, it isn't a mobile phone in the biblical sense. You shouldn't be mobile when attempting to use it. It is mobile, you are not.

Yes, I know, the iPhone is only as good as the network it is on. But, so long as it is only on one network in this country -- that isn't much of an argument here. To be fair, I used my iPhone in Europe this summer (England, Sweden, Russia, Finland, Germany, etc.) without the constant dropped calls. I even rode on a train for an hour, from London to Oxford, without dropping a call. But, I don't live or work in Europe. I live in work in the Washington, D.C. area and here, the iPhone sucks.

This is so say nothing of the iPhone's inherent ability to hold a day and half's worth of emails compared to a month or more for the Blackberry. If you're planning pizza parties or organizing social events, two days email storage is probably more than enough. For the rest of us, it is completely inadequate.

And then there is the recent revelation of search for iPhone. Great idea. Search. Could be really useful.

Here again, if you don't get many emails or materially important ones. The iPhone could be quite good. If you're a teenage sending 3000 monthly texts, no issue with the iPhone (I think). But if you get a lot of emails, and they're important, you will need to get a real tool like the Blackberry.

All of which is to say, we may be seeing the end of "prosumer" devices. The term, prosumer, was coined to describe a class of devices that consumers purchased and put to a dual purpose, professional and personal/consumer use. I would argue that Apple is one of the best consumer companies. Apple has taken a consumer product pretty far, maybe as far as it can go -- maybe too far.

Here comes another generation of smart phone based upon Android operating system technology and all on better networks (hard to do, I know, I am talking to you -- AT&T user). Industry analysts predict that these Android devices will never surpass the iPhone in popularity on a volume basis. For professional usage and perhaps on the average revenue per user metric that drives the telco's, I suspect it will all be Android devices over the iPhone. And it won't take long. Then again, I will likely be carrying a Droid based phone, my general purpose iPhone, and Blackberry for email and yes, I will be looking for a charger. So, I will count in all categories.....

November 10, 2009

He can get up at the company Christmas party and say, "I've had a good year". No one in the room agrees or can even follow the logic that would get him there. But it doesn't matter. He lives in a bubble which just reflects back to him his beauty, wisdom and general likability in the softest and kindest of lights. So year round he can move from place to place and meeting to meeting with a blissful peace where he is un-bothered by the harsh reality and sharp edges of real problems. Tell him bad news or present a vexing problem and he'll look at you as if you're speaking in some kind of code. He'll look off into space as if he's piecing together the real meaning of your cryptographic communication. He is convinced you're speaking in some kind of code since he can't discern how he'll look good as a result of the story you're telling. So, there must be something he doesn't understand. It is downright illogical, if what you're saying is true, he could look bad. Clearly, you are not a good communicator.

Ms. Faux Mentum

Real company momentum is difficult to create and maintain for a CEO. And it takes a lot of work, smart decisions and real leadership. So, lacking those things -- why not faux mentum instead !! Faux Mentum is the appearance of progress and implication of success without any of the messy and hard earned elements of real momentum. The joy! The creative freedom! Press mentions, favorable sales meetings, cold calls from investors, magazine awards can all be leveraged in the production of faux mentum. Creation of faux mentum usually relies on having "happy ears" which enable the listener to "hear" good news even none is truly present. With happy ears, the customer not only says they're going to buy, but they're going to buy a lot. Which is good news, or can be described as such, even if the customer was positive but non-commital.

Good news is pieced together and arranged to create the impression of great news in the aggregate. Later, when none of these things really appear to be panning out. There are always new faux mentum elements to be created, promoted and celebrated by Ms. FM. Yes, it is extensive effort and ultimately the creation of real momentum might be less work. But don't tell this CEO as it isn't effort that is the problem here, it is the results.

The Philosopher King

There's no strategy like the new strategy as they say. Especially when you haven't done anything to implement the last strategy. So it isn't so much that the last strategy failed, it is that he thought of a better one prior to the completion of the last strategy. And who would pursue an old strategy, when a new, better one is at hand? Certainly not this guy. He always ready to wax philosophic about the new strategy. And there is always, always, always, a new strategy.

The old strategy "wouldn't have worked anyway", he'll later say, which is something you'll never really know for sure. Though it is difficult to argue this thought or any other thoughts related to this succession of strategies as there is no implementation data or feedback. It is all a philosophical, theoretical discussion.

You'll never know of the actual viability of the old strategy, the current strategy or the future strategy. You won't know about these strategies because this CEO won't implement any of them. Not at all. To implement the strategy would involve the usage of tactics. And where strategy is interesting and fun to talk about, tactics are measurable and tedious are comparision.

November 08, 2009

The PBS radio show "This American Life" is a wonderful series. They recently did a piece on the effect of a "bad actor" being placed on a team. The person, who was an actor and instructed to be a negative influence, had a material effect on the performance of the team.

While it is a hour long show, the bad actor sequence is the first ten minutes. Really worth a quick listen.

The fastest and most direct way to start up success is an acute, deep understanding of your competition. It is also the most powerful evidence that you can present to potential investors.

Consider the case of an entrepreneur who arrives with a complete understanding of competitors' products. This conveys insight into market, opportunity, sales strategy and product superiority. Alternatively, if the entrepreneur doesn't demonstrate that understanding it undermines everything and I mean, everything, within a business plan or proposal. The management loses credibility as does do the financial projections. Without that demonstrated understanding of competitor strengths and weaknesses, assertions sound like wishes instead declarations of knowledgable intent.

I often advise young people that are striving to contribute and advance in an organization that nothing can differentiate oneself as powerfully as being an expert on the competition. It is available to all but sought by few. Being a known "expert" on the competition will bring people from across the organization to one's door step. Which, if you're young and interested in moving up, is an unparalled platform for recognition.

On the other hand, you may be an entrepreneur and interest in raising VC (ie, you're reading this blog), and if you want to blow the doors off at venture capitalist presentation -- leave no one doubting your complete command of the competitive situation. Doing so will build positive conviction about you and your deal. For that matter, nothing will take your further in quest for start up success. It also makes a lot easier to access investment.